Tiffani Hernandez and a second Lady Eagle get up for the block against Devine Arabian Alyssa Schmidt as Sydney Delgado looks on. The Lady Eagles defeated the Devine Arabians during their home dual. MARISSA VALDEZ | PLEASANTON EXPRESS The Pleasanton Lady Eagles are off to a dominating start to their 2012-2013 season. Under the guidance of veteran Coach Gabriel Aguirre, Pleasanton has begun their season with an 8-1 record, coming off a full week of action which included a dual, two nondistrict games and a tournament championship at Ft. Sam Houston. Pleasanton will now prepare for a tough tournament in Devine this coming weekend.

Pleasanton Dual- The Pleasanton Varsity Volleyball squad opened their season with their traditional dual against George West and Devine. At the end of a long and competitive night, Pleasanton had split victories.

“We had opening day jitters against George West, but we did show some good moments and some not so good moments. It was a learning experience for all of the new girls,” stated Coach Gabriel Aguirre.

In the second opener, George West was able to down the Lady Eagles in five games, 21-25, 25-10, 14-25, 25-14 and 15-9.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Sydney Delgado 13, Jenna Yow 6. Digs- Emma Garcia 29, Gabberz Martinez 15. Assists- Kerri Harriss 11, Tayler Hall 8. Blocks- Delgado 1.

In the final contest of the night, Pleasanton battled a youthful Devine squad and was able to come away with a four game victory over the Arabians. Pleasanton picked up the win by scores of 25-22, 28-30, 25-20 and 25-6.

“We learned quickly. The things we failed to do against George West we did very well against Devine. Our defense was really good although we still could do a better job of blocking. Overall it was a very good effort,” Coach Aguirre added.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Tiffani Hernandez 15, Delgado 13. Digs- Garcia 27, Harriss 16. Assists- Cheyenne Bandy 22, Harriss 19. Blocks- Torey Dumont 1. Aces- Garcia 1 and Ashlee Escalante 1.

S.A. FEAST- One day later the Lady Eagles were back in action against the S.A. FEAST home school Patriots. Led by Tiffani Hernandez and Gabby Brooks, Pleasanton dominated the squad in a three game sweep. The Lady Eagles picked up the win by scores of 25-15, 25-7, 25-14.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Hernandez and Brooks 7 each. Assists- Harriss 8, Hall 6. Digs- Delgado 15 and Garcia 11. Blocks- Brooks 4.

Ft. Sam Houston Tournament: Pool Play- The Lady Eagles faced three different opponents during pool play. Pleasanton opened the contest against 1A Kenedy where they handed the Leopards 25-14, 25-4 losses.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Hernandez and Brooks 8 each. Assists- Harriss 10, Bandy 9. Digs- Delgado 8, Harriss 5. Blocks- Yow 2.

In the second pool contest, Pleasanton faced a youthful Natalia squad and it proved. The Lady Eagles took advantage of Natalia, as they slammed the Lady Mustangs 25-9, 25-11 to remain undefeated thus far.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Delgado 6, Jessica Herschap and Brooks 5 each. Assists- Harriss 14, Hall 7. Digs- Garcia 17, Harriss and Escalante 7 each. Blocks- Yow 2. Aces- Delgado 2.

The Pearsall Lady Mavericks were the final victim in pool play, as the Lady Eagles soared past the competition. The Lady Eagles dominated Pearsall 25-10, 25-13 to finish undefeated in pool play.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Brooks 8, Delgado 3. Assists- Harriss 12. Digs- Garcia and Martinez 6 each. Blocks- Yow 1. Aces- Hernandez 1.

Bracket Play: Semi- Finals- The Lady Eagles faced the host Cole Lady Coogs in the semi-final contest of the tournament. Pleasanton jumped all over Cole, 25-3, 25-10 to advance to the championship contest.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Brooks 10, Hernandez 6. Assists- Harriss 15. Digs- Delago 3, Garcia 2. Blocks- 1. Aces- Delgado, Garcia and Hall 1 each.

Championship- In the title game of the tournament, Pleasanton faced Natalia in a re-match. Once again, the better team proved to be the girls in green and white as they dominated the Lady Mustangs.

Pleasanton was able to sweep the Lady Mustangs, 25-7, 25-13 and 25-13.

“It was a very successful weekend for us. Not only did we win the tourney, but our defense was very good this weekend. We did not allow a team to score more than 14 points in a match. In six out of the eleven games, we held them to ten points or less. We just need to keep playing at this level the rest of the year and we will be fine,” stated Coach Gabriel Aguirre.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Brooks 11, Hernandez 10. Assists- Harriss 20, Bandy 11. Digs- Garcia 16, Delgado 12. Blocks- Yow and Brooks 1 each. Aces- Garcia 2.

St. Anthony- On Monday night, August 20th the Lady Eagles traveled to San Antonio to face the St. Anthony Lady Jackets. Pleasanton was forced to four games, but came out ahead 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23.

Stat Leaders: Kills- Hernandez 16, Delgado 13. Assists- Harriss 24, Hall 20. Digs- Garcia 37, Martinez and Harriss 22 each. Blocks- Brooks 4, Yow 1. Aces- Garcia 2, Martinez 1.

Upcoming Games- This weekend the Lady Eagles will be tested as they take part in the 11th Annual Devine Arabian Volleyball Round-up. This year, a total of sixteen teams from around South Texas will compete in the three day event.

Pleasanton will compete in Pool “D”, who will take the court on Friday at Devine High School. The Lady Eagles will face Marion at 12:00 noon, Cotulla at 3:00 p.m. and S.A. FEAST at 4:00 p.m. in pool play.

Dependent on how they finish in their pool will determine their seed in bracket play on Saturday. A complete tourney bracket is available on our website. Be sure to visit our sports page, then click on the sports related documents link to view the tournament bracket and schedule.

On Tuesday, August 28th the Lady Eagles travel up 281 to battle the Southside Lady Cardinals with three games set to begin at 5:30 p.m. The varsity is set to take the court around 7:00 p.m.

See the Lady Eagles in this week's Brush Country Volleyball Highlight reel.